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Summer Camp Secrets #1
Pranked
Dear __________,
I dreaded coming to camp Pine Haven and my first week here was the worst. While my best friend was sunbathing on the beach in Hawaii, I was stuck with outdoor showers, a rickety cabin, and only one friend—quiet, boring Melissa. Then the "Evil Twins" showed up. It turned out they're totally cool and they wanted to be my friend! They're not really evil—well, not to me, at least. They AREN'T too nice to Melissa. We started playing a few pranks and it's kind of gotten out of control... I know I should put a stop to things, but I don't want to lose my only friends here. I just hope that I don't do anything I regret.
Love,
Kelly
I dreaded coming to camp Pine Haven and my first week here was the worst. While my best friend was sunbathing on the beach in Hawaii, I was stuck with outdoor showers, a rickety cabin, and only one friend—quiet, boring Melissa. Then the "Evil Twins" showed up. It turned out they're totally cool and they wanted to be my friend! They're not really evil—well, not to me, at least. They AREN'T too nice to Melissa. We started playing a few pranks and it's kind of gotten out of control... I know I should put a stop to things, but I don't want to lose my only friends here. I just hope that I don't do anything I regret.
Love,
Kelly
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2008
12 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Katy Grant
21 books40 followersKaty Grant grew up in Tennessee and decided at age eight she wanted to be a writer after reading a biography of Louisa May Alcott. (But for some strange reason she never got around to reading Little Women until she was an adult.) For many years she taught composition and creative writing courses at university and community colleges. She currently lives in Arizona with her husband Eric and enjoys spending time with her two adult sons.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 5, 2016
I'm a sucker for a good series, and just in time for the warm weather, I have discovered Katy Grant's Summer Camp Secrets. The series takes place at Camp Pine Haven, an all girls camp in North Carolina. Each book is from the point of view of a different "Middler" - that is, a camper who is neither a Junior nor a Senior but somewhere in between.
The narrator of Pranked, is 12-year-old Kelly Hedges, a first-time camper. Though she starts out nervous and shy, Kelly quickly becomes friends with the loudest and most popular girls in her cabin, Reb and Jennifer, better known as the Evil Twins. They welcome Kelly into the fold and start using a new name - The Terrible Triplets. Together, Reb, Jennifer, and Kelly wreak havoc on the camp, and especially on their cabin-mate, mild-mannered Melissa.
Kelly's cruelty starts out on a small scale, with just a few offhand comments here and there to impress her new friends, but as the summer wears on, it escalates. Though she knows what she's doing is wrong, Kelly makes excuses for her behavior, and Reb's friendship and acceptance become more important to her than anything else. Will Kelly draw the line when Reb takes things too far? Will Reb forgive her if she decides not to go along with her schemes?
This book explores all the intricacies of early adolescent friendship, and accurately portrays the layers and nuances to the way girls treat each other. Kelly makes some really insightful observations about the randomness of popularity, and how relieved a girl is when the powerful mean girl chooses her as a friend and not a victim. Many tween books focus on bullying and peer pressure, but this one felt more realistic than many others I have read, because it showed the issue from both sides. Reb, Jennifer, and Kelly all act as bullies in this book, but they are many other things as well. The fact that Katy Grant never pigeonholes her characters is what sets this book apart from others in its genre.
This is the perfect book for girls dealing with difficult friendship drama, and also a great summer beach read. Unlike many other series that churn out mediocre book after mediocre book just to fill the shelves, this looks like it will be a well-written, positive, valuable, and realistic series for preteens.
The narrator of Pranked, is 12-year-old Kelly Hedges, a first-time camper. Though she starts out nervous and shy, Kelly quickly becomes friends with the loudest and most popular girls in her cabin, Reb and Jennifer, better known as the Evil Twins. They welcome Kelly into the fold and start using a new name - The Terrible Triplets. Together, Reb, Jennifer, and Kelly wreak havoc on the camp, and especially on their cabin-mate, mild-mannered Melissa.
Kelly's cruelty starts out on a small scale, with just a few offhand comments here and there to impress her new friends, but as the summer wears on, it escalates. Though she knows what she's doing is wrong, Kelly makes excuses for her behavior, and Reb's friendship and acceptance become more important to her than anything else. Will Kelly draw the line when Reb takes things too far? Will Reb forgive her if she decides not to go along with her schemes?
This book explores all the intricacies of early adolescent friendship, and accurately portrays the layers and nuances to the way girls treat each other. Kelly makes some really insightful observations about the randomness of popularity, and how relieved a girl is when the powerful mean girl chooses her as a friend and not a victim. Many tween books focus on bullying and peer pressure, but this one felt more realistic than many others I have read, because it showed the issue from both sides. Reb, Jennifer, and Kelly all act as bullies in this book, but they are many other things as well. The fact that Katy Grant never pigeonholes her characters is what sets this book apart from others in its genre.
This is the perfect book for girls dealing with difficult friendship drama, and also a great summer beach read. Unlike many other series that churn out mediocre book after mediocre book just to fill the shelves, this looks like it will be a well-written, positive, valuable, and realistic series for preteens.
August 11, 2010
read it because Allie wouldn't, and when I finished, I was glad she didn't. Bought the book at Justice for Girls, and they talked about how good it was and appropriate for the tween age range. We must have different definitions of appropriate.
May 16, 2019
Adult rating: 3 stars
Kid rating: 4 stars
Kelly is not looking forward to her first year at summer camp. She's worried about making friends. She's relieved when Melissa talks to her, especially since some girls are mentioning the evil twins who haven't arrived yet. When the two friends (aka the evil twins) arrive, Kelly sizes them up. Other than not liking Melissa, they don't seem all that bad. Before long they are asking Kelly to do activities with them. Kelly is thrilled to be liked by the cool girls, but then they start pranking Melissa. Kelly has to go along with it or risk losing them as friends.
This is the kind of book tween girls will love. It's a mirror of the very things they go through on a regular basis with friends. The cattiness and drama is real. Girls are faced with this dilemma a lot. Be popular or do the right thing. Sometimes it can't be both.
Kid rating: 4 stars
Kelly is not looking forward to her first year at summer camp. She's worried about making friends. She's relieved when Melissa talks to her, especially since some girls are mentioning the evil twins who haven't arrived yet. When the two friends (aka the evil twins) arrive, Kelly sizes them up. Other than not liking Melissa, they don't seem all that bad. Before long they are asking Kelly to do activities with them. Kelly is thrilled to be liked by the cool girls, but then they start pranking Melissa. Kelly has to go along with it or risk losing them as friends.
This is the kind of book tween girls will love. It's a mirror of the very things they go through on a regular basis with friends. The cattiness and drama is real. Girls are faced with this dilemma a lot. Be popular or do the right thing. Sometimes it can't be both.
September 25, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Bonus points for loving it in grade 6 and finding the whole series at Value Village.
Good very quick read, honest the writing quality isn’t the best but the plot is pretty okay for being a book about a 12 yr old at camp
Bonus points for loving it in grade 6 and finding the whole series at Value Village.
Good very quick read, honest the writing quality isn’t the best but the plot is pretty okay for being a book about a 12 yr old at camp
April 23, 2019
If you don't mind a lot of frenemy drama without a lot of other plot, Summer Camp Secrets: Pranked is a decent summer camp story.
January 2, 2022
i dont really remember anything about this book, saying how i was only trying to read it to get it off my shelves.
Read
August 30, 2024don’t judge me I was indulging in some nostalgia
September 7, 2024
J’ai moins accroché au plot que les autres mais c’est quand même bien écrit et prenant
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March 28, 2011This book is okay but a has a little over dramatic people. A basic outline of the book would go something like this--
Kelly parents have just signed her up for summer camp--eeew as Kelly would say. While there kelly mets a lot of girls. Some were nice and a little shy and others were mean, dramactic and rich.You'll have to read it to find out more.
But I wouldnt read it unless your really bored!
Kelly parents have just signed her up for summer camp--eeew as Kelly would say. While there kelly mets a lot of girls. Some were nice and a little shy and others were mean, dramactic and rich.You'll have to read it to find out more.
But I wouldnt read it unless your really bored!
August 9, 2015
the book pranked is about a girl named Kelly and she wants goes to camp. there however she gets into the Evil twins group and starts to pick on melissa. this book is something that could happen to anyone and i like that it shows how things might be for some girls. one time at a camp i was with some of my friends and i realized that some girls were picking on other girls behind their backs. i recommed this book to people that like realistic fiction.
November 11, 2009
This book is SO GOOD!!!
January 4, 2010
I like this because it was funny and they do so many prank on Melissa because the evil twins didn't like her since last year.
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December 19, 2009some pranks and how to be yourself
February 17, 2010
A great book. except for the fact she didn't get to see ethan again.
July 26, 2010
I really like this book....it really touches me!
June 1, 2011
Ya this Book is the Best book if is very Funny to lol lol lol
June 12, 2011
THIS IS THE BEST BOOK U NEED TO READ IT...... It is bout this girl who goes to summer camp
August 25, 2011
I loved this book. I could not but it down, i can't wait to read the other books by her.
January 12, 2023
This was cute and fun! I remember reading it before I went to sleep away camp.
January 2, 2011
light, easy and fun. I <3 pranks!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews